


The Archer's Shinai

by glass_damask



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, Rain, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 15:25:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18346409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glass_damask/pseuds/glass_damask
Summary: Takumi finds a training partner and a confidant.





	The Archer's Shinai

**Author's Note:**

> so i up and deleted my old stories on here (genius, i know), so i'm reposting them here.

The day was far different than most.  
  
What should have been bathed in warm spring sunlight was instead being assaulted by a harsh downpour and unrelenting, gelid gusts of wind.  
  
The girl's red eyes trailed the tapering wallpaper which was now only partially concealing the wooden walls underneath as she walked through the hall, her exposed feet making soft thumps against the floor.  
  
She ambled down the halls, careful not to make too much of a racket, when she stopped walking and turned a bit to the right, facing screen doors that divided herself from the training room. The tips of her fingers traced circles over the screens as she tried to listen in on whomever was currently inside.  
  
She heard several grunts from inside the room, but nothing else.  
  
The girl, after dawdling long enough, decided to push open the doors and walk in. The long-haired young man in the center of the room was turned away from her, and failed to notice her silent entry.  
  
She slowly shut the doors behind her, and watched as Takumi swung his shinai over his head, and then forcefully brought it down in front of him. The girl watched in silent awe as Takumi's shoulder blades, which were outlined though his white kimono, worked ceaselessly in rhythm to his movements. The fellow royal felt a bit entranced at the sight.  
  
After what seemed to be the tenth consecutive swing, the young man suspended the physical labor, beads of sweat rolling down his temples.  
  
Once realizing how long she'd been standing there staring, the girl decided to make herself known--so she cleared her throat. Takumi instinctively turned his head to look at her.  
  
"Ah, Sister," he began, and she was relieved to no longer hear that malicious tone tacked onto the name. She was also relieved that he hadn't realized that she was watching him train; a fact which she, for the sake of saving herself from any future teasing, will omit from then on. "It's... nice to see... you." It was obvious by his tone that he was out of breath.  
  
He used his shinai as a cane while he leaned against it for support, waiting until he caught his breath. Once he was able to breathe normally, he brought the sword up and around his head, resting it behind the nape of his neck. He was pulling on both ends of the shinai with his hands, as if trying to stretch with it. Their eyes met once during this, but the gaze was soon dropped when Corrin's attention was averted from the young man's; pretending to be caught up with the dreary scenery beyond the room's open curtains.  
  
She eventually broke the serene silence. "Mind my asking how come you're training with a sword?" she asked idly, while shuffling her feet.  
  
Takumi grinned at her, a bit unbecoming of him, and answered pleasantly enough. "My main weapon used to be a sword, actually." After a pause, he added, "But after a while, I switched to archery." Corrin nodded, honestly intrigued, and asked another question, this one earning a surprised glance from him.  
  
"Is it alright if I train with you?"  
  
The girl had remembered Hinata mentioning Takumi's surprisingly good skill with a sword, and she was itching to see whether or not it was just a rumor.  
  
Eventually the surprise of her request had drained from Takumi's features, a confident smirk now taking its place. "You're on!" He drew his shinai out from behind him, taking a fighting stance eerily similar to Hana's. Corrin rushed across the wooden floorboards and drew a wooden practice katana which was leaning against a wall, ready to start.  
  
*  
  
"Not close enough!" Takumi lectured the fellow royal as he easily dodged her sudden dash toward him. She proceeded to stumble past him, and quickly turned to barely block his downward strike.  
  
Corrin was panting because of how long they'd been practicing without a single break in between. However, her pride kept her from pointing this fact out and asking for what she so obviously needed.  
  
Takumi's tone had now morphed into a mix of taunting and lecturing: "You know you're going to have to adapt to my speed if you wanna even come close to my level!"  
  
She nearly fell down when shoved back by Takumi's push with his shinai, but she caught herself at the last moment to, once again, block his merciless strikes.  
  
However, once she repositioned herself, she felt an immediate, sharp pain in her right shoulder; Takumi had roughly jabbed her with his sword. She cried out in pain, yet still stood her ground, not yet willing to concede.  
  
Takumi paused for a moment, worried about whether to continue or not, and soon went back to his fighting stance.  
  
Corrin dove straight for the Hoshidan prince, seemingly ready to land a clear hit on his right arm. He brought his elbow up in an attempt to block it, when his sparring partner surprised him.  
  
Before her sword could come into contact with Takumi's, she quickly threw her aim down and across his body, hitting him in his left side, instantly knocking the wind out of him. He gasped and fell to his knees, dropping his sword in the process--a sure sign of defeat.  
  
"I... can't believe... you beat... me!" he barely managed to say between breaths. Corrin, panting almost as bad as Takumi, smiled and held her hand out to him. He took it wholeheartedly, and stuggled to his feet, still practically wheezing. "You know..." he started to say, but he had to take a nice, long breath in, making his sparring partner wait. "When I used to use swords, Ryoma and I trained together--seriously--and he totally wiped the floor with me!"  
  
He had no clue why he was admitting this to Corrin of all people, but it felt right, so he went on.  
  
"It was so humiliating that I took up archery almost immediately after..."  
  
He exhaled in relief, happy to find that he was able to do so without wheezing, but grew flustered after the impact of his words had hit him. To whom he was admitting this didn't help his embarrassment much, either.  
  
Just as he had now feared, instead of simply waving off his confession, Corrin decided to pursue it. "So you just lost and gave up?" she questioned him with a baffled tone. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But why? Why would you?"  
  
"Why wouldn't you?" His tone was suddenly dripping with an unintentional malice. "You didn't see how badly he beat me--it practically shouted at me to drop the sword and do something else!" Takumi's voice cracked a tiny bit at the end, his composure rapidly depleting.  
  
Beyond frustrated, Takumi attempted to leave, but the girl refused to allow it.  
  
"Move, Corrin." Takumi ordered as he reverted back to his full stature; relatively taller than his sparring partner.  
  
She didn't back down, if her widening her armspan across the two doors was any indication. "Please, do something for me, then." Her voice failed to waver under his intense scrutiny. Corrin secretly went up on her tiptoes as the two stared each other down, trying to gain as much height as possible.  
  
Takumi, now more tired than frustrated, said, "Fine! What is it?" The tiredness, however, didn't stop his once-friendly tone from turning cold and harsh, not unlike the weather outside.  
  
"If you fail at something, don't let it stop you from trying again!" She thought to grab onto his shoulders to shake some sense into him, but thought better of it. "No matter how bad it was, or how many times it happened, let it inspire you to try again!" Her voice was filled with an unrestrained passion that could only embody herself that perfectly.  
  
Takumi considered it with a scowl. "...Fine. I promise that I won't give up..." Despite how forced his words sounded, Corrin smiled, knowing without a doubt that they were genuine. Takumi, after a minute, couldn't help but smile back. He paused for a second, and said with a chuckle, "You know, you can be really naive sometimes."  
  
They both shared a chuckle at that.  
  
She eventually opened the screens, and walked out of the room with Takumi on her heels. Before they had even realized it, the weather had cleared up quite nicely.

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally made on 9.24.16, and was rewritten on 8.17.18


End file.
